Progress 07/01/06 to 06/30/10
Outputs
This project has fulfilled the three primary objectives laid out in the original proposal. First, an international forestry colloquium was carried out throughout the four years (one extended year) of the project. This was successful in terms of the number and quality of speakers involved. An email list was generated to advertise this meeting to all agency partners and interested forestry professionals. Second, the three study tours to Ireland, Thailand, and India were carried out with undergraduate students with no major incidents and a great deal of new awareness of international forestry for the participants. Third, the reinstitution of the Global Forest Resources course took place and is currently in the third year that it is being offered at WVU. These accomplishments have paved the way for many other opportunities for the project and associate faculty in the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, some of which are listed under outcomes and impacts in this and previous reports. PRODUCTS: This project featured 20 seminars as part of the International Forestry Symposium. The seminars were well publicized to both natural resources professionals and students. Instructional syllabus for the FOR 425 Global Forest Resources Course. An international forestry bulletin board that, even following the project, serves to feature current events and information on international forestry topics. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome of this project was the establishment of the FOR 425 Global Forest Resources course. The initial proposal was to develop a syllabus and associated curriculum for the course and teach it every other year. To date, due to the popularity of this elective class, we have offered it two years and have students enrolled in the third consecutive year. Another outcome is the international contacts that the faculty have established. We continue to interact an work directly with international colleagues that we have met through this project and intent to continue future student study tours with these individuals. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Advertisement of the International Forestry Colloquium was consistently conducted and served as a dissemination tool. One of the West Virginia tours offered to visiting international colleagues was featured in the WV Division of Forestry newsletter. Three public seminars were advertised and offered to nearby residents and local forestry professionals along the course of the WV tours. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We are continuing efforts to offer the FOR 425 course each semester. Several international study tours have been planned. The project faculty's involvement with this project has opened lines of communication with the WVU Office of International Programs and we have been part of collaborative project proposal writing efforts for initiatives in Brazil and India.
Impacts
We feel that one of our greatest impacts is a former student that participated on all three study tours and the FOR 425 class. He is now serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mexico. The WVU Division of Forestry and Natural Resources is now a sponsoring institution for the Peace Corps Masters International Program. While the project coordinators cannot take credit for initializing this effort, we feel that part of our success with this project has led to an increased international awareness in our Division and in a small way motivated the success of this new PCMI program achievement.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 01/01/10 to 06/30/10
Outputs
This progress report covers the last six months of an extended project. In this period, we held the second Global Forest Resources FOR 425 course. This year we had excellent retention of students with 20 of the 22 original students remaining in the class. In addition, we used this period to support a student at an international research meeting. This same student participated in all of our international study tours and is now an active Peace Corps volunteer in Mexico. We view this as a big accomplishment. In the past 6 months we have also partnered with other faculty in the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources to apply for and successfully get a Peace Corps Masters International program. We feel that our internation efforts in this project played at least a partial role in this success. We had the opportunity this spring to host four Philippine agriculture administrators that were in the US to explore distance learning methods. They visited WVU, and contacted us here in the forestry and natural resources group because of our past work with international colleagues in this projet. While the visit was only a half day field session, the brief study tour gave the visitors an excellent look at contemporary pasture, aquaculture, and horticulture practices. A termination report is forthcoming. PRODUCTS: None in this time period. OUTCOMES: A brief study tour for Philippine agriculture administrators to local extension projects. Collaboration on and successful awarding of a Peace Corps Masters International program. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: N/A FUTURE INITIATIVES: We hope to continue to build the awareness of our undergraduates through continued offering of the Global Forest Resources course and the Peace Corps Masters International Program.
Impacts
Our biggest impact is that one of the undergraduate participants of this project is now an active Peace Corps Volunteer.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
In Spring 2009, we held our first Global Forest Resources (FOR425) course. Initially, 22 students signed up to take this optional course. According to the evaluations students filled out at the end of the course, they felt it was worthwhile. Students gave very positive evaluations for both course content and teaching. We first proposed to teach this elective course every other year, however, given students' positive response and our own satisfaction with how the course went, we have decided to teach it in 2010 as well and currently have 21 students enrolled. Brian McDonald, a graduate student majoring in Forestry, spent a month in Hyderabad, India in Summer 2009 to collect data for his thesis entitled Evaluation of Industrial Promoted Agroforestry in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, India. His trip was partly supported by funds from this project. Brian is one of the students who took part in the three field experiences conducted as part of this ISE project. In fact, his participation in the India Study Tour in 2008 was one of the reasons why Brian decided to study agroforestry systems in India. This past year, our project featured 3 speakers in the International Forestry Colloquium. In Fall, Mr. Dan Meyer, Market Analyst for Hardwood Publishing Company drove up from North Carolina to give two presentations including: From High Point to Hunan: The U.S. Hardwood Industry in a Global Market and Issues and Opportunities in International Hardwood Trade. The first was delivered to the faculty and students at a noon brown bag seminar and the second to the students of the Global Forest Resources Course. In Fall, Dr. Eric Heitzman spoke of his forestry experiences in Guyana, and Dr. Ray Hicks presented a talk on a trip to Amazonia. PRODUCTS: One student collected data in India for his Masters degree project. Three colloquia were conducted on a variety of topics in intenational forestry. A semester-long, 3-credit course in Global Forest Resources was delivered, with 22 students registered initially. Students in this course were required to conduct background research and deliver a presentation on a international forestry topic of their choice. OUTCOMES: While not initially intended, one important outcome this year was the graduation with a Masters degree of one of the students who participated in all our originally-planned field experinces abroad, and who went on to conduct research for his thesis in India. Research conducted in India and supported partly from this grant will be presented at the 2010 IUFRO Small Scale Forestry meeting in Bled, Slovenia, and subsequently published in the conference proceedings. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: We continue informing the campus community of students, faculty, and staff about our on-going activities. This is possible through our bulletin board, and e-mail announcements sent via WVU campus listserves. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We again teach the Global Forest Resources course, and, given its popularity, it may become one of the annual courses offered in the Forestry curriculum at WVU. We also continue offering the International Forestry Colloquium. We began discussions that hopefully will culminate in bringing the Peace Corps masters program into our Forest Resources Management program at WVU. Currently, a new field experience in Nicaragua has been planned by co-PI Mcgill together with the WVU Office of International Programs for the 2010 Spring Break.
Impacts
In June 2009, the project team sponsored an international symposium. The 2009 International Union of Forest Research Organizations Small Scale Forestry Unit was held in Morgantown, West Virginia. While this was not funded by the ISE project, this was only possible because of the collaboration that we have had on this ISE project. Our efforts in coordinating the ISE project have led to an excellent working relationship that permitted the complex planning, organization, and delivery of this international meeting. At the meeting were 75 delegates from 17 countries that were exposed to WVU and our state and international forestry efforts. PI Piatek and co-PI McGill were co-editors of the Proceedings - a compilation of 29 refereed papers presented at the meeting (Piatek, K.B., B.D. Spong, S. Harrison, and D.W. McGill. 2009. Seeing the Forest Beyond the Trees: New possibilities and expectations for products and services from small-scale forestry. Proceedings of the 2009 IUFRO 3.08 Small-Scale Forestry Symposium. June 2009, Morgantown, WV, United States: West Virginia University, Division of Forestry and Natural Resources.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
In Spring 2008, we hosted the WVU International Forestry Colloquium and featured 4 speakers. These included two visiting foresters from the Philippines (below,Dr. Almaz Orozumbekov from the Kyrgyz Republic, and graduate student Brian McDonald who presented his experience from the ISE study tour to Andhra Pradesh, India. We also hosted a study tour of West Virginia forestry and natural resources field visits for three international foresters as part of Objective 3 of the WVU ISE project, the International Forestry Colloquium. These international foresters were: 1.) Edilberto Nasayo, Director of Research for Region 9 of the Philippine Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Nasayo spent a day working in the historic Rothkugel Plantation with staff and Americorps volunteers associated with the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area and students from the WVU Society of American Foresters. 2.) Dr. Feliciano Calora, Professor of Forestry at Benguet State University, Philippines. Dr. Calora was on a sabbatical to the United States to research urban forestry information that could be used to develop an urban forestry program at his home institution. 3.) Dr. Ramazan Ozcelik, Assistant Professor of Forest Biometrics at Suleyman Demirel University, Turkey. Dr. Ozcelik was on sabbatical at WVU to work on various biometrics projects. These three forestry professionals participated in the 4-day WV forestry tour on April 14-17, 2008. The group visited several private, nonindustrial forest sites, an industrial forest harvesting operation, a Christmas tree farm and several National Park Service interpretive centers. On April 15th, Dir. Nasayo and Dr. Calora made presentations on Philippine forestry to a group of local foresters in Lewisburg, WV. In July of 2008, a forestry study tour was conducted in Thailand. Co-PI Dr. Kathryn Arano coordinated the trip in collaboration with Dr. Chaiwat Kongson of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University in Thailand. The trip was participated by Dr. Ben Spong, a faculty of the WVU Division of Forestry and two Forest Resources Management students - one graduate student and one undergraduate student. Among the highlights of the study tour were visits to 2 forestry schools - Thammathirat Open University, which offers a degree in forestry through distance education; and Kasetsart University, which is the first forestry school in Thailand; community-based mangrove forests; teak and eucalyptus plantations; pulp and paper company; and Thailand's oldest national park - Khao Yai National Park. The students were able to interact with students, landowners, scientists, and Thai foresters during the tour. The students also had the opportunity to experience Thailand's rich culture through visits to the Emerald Buddha Temple, Vimanmek Mansion - largest teak mansion, the Floating Market, and sample authentic Thai cuisine. As a result of the trip, the graduate student who participated in the trip presented a seminar about Forestry in Thailand in our International Forestry Colloquium. The undergraduate student participant developed a poster about the trip highlights. The poster was put on display on the project bulletin board for other students to see. PRODUCTS: The main products for this reporting period are: 1.)forestry study tour to Thailand with 2 faculty participants and 2 student participants, and 2.)International Forestry Colloquium. OUTCOMES: Students were given another opportunity to learn about forestry and culture in Asia through the forestry study tour in Thailand. The IFC still continues to draw our students, graduate and undergraduate,and faculty. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The IFC is well advertised through email-lists and fliers. The forestry study tour to Thailand was also advertised through the college email-list, fliers, and a poster displayed on the project bulletin board. The highlights of the Thailand forestry study tour were presented in a poster and was on display the entire Fall semester on the project bulletin board. In addition, a seminar was also presented by one of the trip participants through the IFC. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The project team will be offering a Global Forest Resources Course in Spring of 2009. We are excited that we have about 14 students registered so far. PI DR. Kathryn Piatek is planning trips to Germany with Scotts and Irelanders, and to Poland in a couple of years. Co-PI Dr. Kathryn Arano is planning a trip to Japan in 2009 to explore research collaborations with the faculty of Kyushu University and also explore opportunities for WVU forestry students to visit Japan.
Impacts
One of our undergraduate students who have been very active in attending the IFC as well as the international study tours to Ireland and India recently graduated and was admitted as a graduate student in our program. As a result of his exposure to our IFC and international study tours, he decided to major in International Forestry. He recently participated in the Thailand forestry study tour. His graduate committee included the members of the project team with Co-PI Kathryn Arano serving as his major professor.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 07/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
In June 2007, we reported on our first international forestry field experience under the auspices of the International Forestry Program at West Virginia University (WVU) developed with support from CSREES ISE. That was in Ireland in March. In November, Dr. Dave McGill and three students traveled to the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), India. The study tour was hosted by the AP Forest Academy and the AP Forestry Department. Among the highlights of the study tour were post-mining reclamation areas, clonal Eucalyptus plantations, a plant propagation research center, cashew and Casurina plantations, silk production, and a community-based ecotourism project. During the trip, our students had many opportunities to glimpse the culture through visits to historical towns, sampling delicious food, and interacting with government foresters, faculty from the Andhra Pradesh Forest Academy (local forestry program), and people in the country side. D. McGill prepared trip report now
available on the WVU Extension Service/Appalachian Hardwood Center's website (http://www.ahc.caf.wvu.edu/). The International Forestry Colloquium (IFC), started in January, continued this fall. The IFC featured seven speakers. These were: Dr. Ramon Razal, Dean, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines at Los Banos on Forestry Issues in the Philippines Dr. Suvarna Chandrappagari, Director, Andhra Pradesh Forest Academy, Hyderabad, India on Forestry Education and Outreach in Andhra Pradesh, India Dr. Al Schuler, Research Economist, USDA Forest Service on Globalization Trends and Housing: Impact on the US Forest Products Industry Dr. Ben Spong, Forest Operations Specialist,WVU ES/AHC on State of the Art in Ethiopia Timber Harvesting Dr. Eric Heitzman, Forest Resources Management, WVU DFNR on Trees in Transylvania: Forests and Forestry in Romania Dr. Dave McGill, Forestry Extension Specialist, WVU ES/AHC on Agroforestry in Leyte, Philippines Dr. Ben
Dawson-Andoh, Wood Science and Technology, WVU DFNR on Current Wood Preservation Technology in Ghana We were hosts to two of our international collaborators - Dr. Suvarna Chandrappagari of India, and Dr. Ramon Razal of The Philippines. Both gave very interesting presentations at the IFC. Co-PI Dave McGill took both collaborators on a 4-day tour of West Virginia to allow our visitors an opportunity to meet with our forestry collaborators in the state. Dr. Suvarna and the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department prepared a detailed report of her trip through West Virginia that is now available in hard copy from this project's PIs.
PRODUCTS: Our main products this period were: 2nd semester of bi-weekly seminars in International Forestry Colloquium, and an international forestry field experience of agroforestry in India, with 3 student participants partially supported through this grant.
OUTCOMES: We continue to provide first-hand experience of international forestry and culture as practiced in Asia. The IFC continues to draw our students, graduate and undergraduate, and faculty. Although originally planned as a 1-year long venture, we are encouraged by the interest and are continuing!
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The IFC is well advertised through e-mail lists. Two trip reports are available - one hard copy that was distributed to all hosts during Dr. Suvarna's visit in WV, and a .pdf file of D. McGill's student trip to India (http://www.ahc.caf.wvu.edu/) .
FUTURE INITIATIVES: Project co-PIs Drs. Kate Piatek and Kathryn Arano are currently gearing up to prepare forestry tours of Germany and Thailand in 2008. The trip to the forests of Germany will be an extension of our collaboration with the Forestry Programme in Dublin, Ireland. This is a very exciting development as the WVU faculty and students will join Irish and Scottish counterparts on this trip! The trip to Thailand promises to be a great introduction to Asian culture and tropical forestry, with a visit to The National Elephant Institute included! The IFC continues to enjoy popularity with students and faculty; as a result, the project PIs decided to continue the series in Spring 2008. Already planned seminars are by foreign colleagues who will be visiting our program - Dr. Arne Arnberger on National Parks and Tourism in Austria, and Dr. Maarten Nieuwenhuis on Forest Management in Ireland. D. McGill is preparing groundwork on hosting at WVU a larger group of Indian foresters at
different field and administrative levels and is in initial discussions with Dr. Jean-Claude Ruel, University of Laval, Quebec, Canada, to initiate trip planning for field practica similar to those we have with Ireland, India, and Thailand.
Impacts
The trip to India was the second international forestry experience under this project for one of the student participants; he is so interested in international forestry that he is seeking admission into our program as a graduate student, and we are very pleased about this development. As a result of our experiences with this project, the project's PIs have been approached by two different colleagues at WVU for tips and comments on a proposed structure of such future international programs in other programs.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 10/01/06 to 06/30/07
Outputs
Since our last report in October 2006, we have been busy with our International Forestry Project at the Forest Resources Management Program at West Virginia University (WVU). Co-PI David McGill arranged for exciting speakers at our International Forestry Colloquium, which was launched in January, 2007. Our speakers this spring included representatives of the government (USDA Forest Service, U.S. Peace Corps), wood products industry (Rolling Ridge Woods, Coastal Lumber Company), and our own students. Topics ranged from Land management planning in Angola, Africa to the development of a global forestry professional (one practitioner's perspective) to the students' report on our first international forestry field experience. The bi-weekly seminars were well advertised through WVU news releases and announcements. The stories we were exposed to were fascinating; the word spread and while the colloquium started with a small audience of about 10, the popularity of the
seminars quickly grew and became well attended by the faculty, staff, and forestry students. We are now preparing for the Fall International Forestry Colloquium, starting in September 2007. This fall, we will be hosts to our international collaborators, who will also present at the colloquium. Co-PI Kate Piatek collaborated with the WVU Office of International Programs and Dr. Maarten Nieuwenhuis of the Forestry Programme at the University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland to plan and execute the first international forestry field experience. On March 23, 2007 four students, the manager of the WVU Research Forest, and Dr. Piatek left Morgantown for Dublin, Ireland, via Pittsburgh and Boston. During our first 2 days in Ireland we attended to the cultural and historical attractions of Dublin, including a visit to the extensive peat bogs surrounding the city. The forestry tour proper gave us an excellent overview of the history of forestry in Ireland in the forestry classrooms at UCD where
we also met Irish forestry students. We were introduced through field visits and discussions to the semi-state owned forest management company Coillte Teoranta. On the West Coast (Galway), we learned about the social, financial, and political aspects of Irish agroforestry, and toured impressive Sitka spruce plantations on the bogs of Connemara. We returned April 1, 2007, just in time for classes. Students prepared a poster from this trip which will promote our program, an oral presentation for the International Forestry Colloquium, and wrote summary papers on topics in international forestry. As a result of discussions of the forestry programs and international experiences for students at WVU and UCD, K. Piatek entered into negotiations to arrange for WVU students to join in an Irish and Scottish forestry field experience to Germany next year. This would be a very exciting development for our program! Co-PIs D. McGill and Kathryn Arano are currently preparing our field trips to India
(planned for late fall 2007), and the Phillippines (summer 2008). Work on the upper-level course in Global Forest Resources is continuing, as the project team is assembling teaching materials.
PRODUCTS: Our main products this period were: a full semester of bi-weekly seminars on International Forestry topics, and our International Field Experience in Ireland. Four students were partially supported through this grant to partcicipate in the trip to Ireland.
OUTCOMES: Our International Forestry Colloquium was a lively and informative forum for learning and interaction; the range of topics covered exposed the participants to a variety of issues encountered in forestry around the world. Without a doubt, learning first-hand about the history of Irish forestry, touring forest plantations and talking with forest managers, and the personal interactions with Irish students as well as professionals was a great lesson for all of us on Irish forestry, people, and politics.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Announcement about the International Forestry Colloquium was posted bi-weekly on electronic news releases at WVU; also printed schedules were posted in buildings housing Forestry, Agriculture, and Plant Sciences departments. While in Ireland, one of the participating students blogged to a WVU blogging website about our daily experiences.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: Work on the trip to India, planned for November 2007, is in full swing. Due to an unexpected travel warning in The Phillippines, our planned trip there was put temporarily on hold. However, our Phillippine collaborator will be visiting us the last week of August. We will also host our Irish and Indian collaborators this fall. A field tour in West Virginia had been planned for our visitors. This fall we will continue our International Forestry Colloquium, and continue prepaing for the Global Forest Resources course. Additionally, preliminary discussions are in progress for a joint American-Irish-Scottish forestry field trip to Germany in March 2008.
Impacts
The increasing attendance at the International forestry Colloquium shows a growing interest in our project among students, faculty, and staff. Due to the participation by wood products industry, students gained an appreciation for some of the opportunities, challenges, and responsibilites of a forestry professional employed with an exporting wood products firm. While it is difficult to gauge student understanding of global forestry issues without a formal instrument, students partcicipating in our first field experience gained first hand knowledge of many aspects of Irish forestry. One of them became so excited that he is now looking to go to graduate school with an international forestry angle. Our faculty are working to be able to provide this student with such an opportunity right here at WVU.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 07/01/06 to 09/30/06
Outputs
To accomplish our goal to provide an International Field Experience, we collaborated with the WVU Office of International Programs and Dr. Maarten Nieuwenhuis of the University College Dublin (UCD) to plan our first trip to Ireland. We have an itinerary that will expose our students and accompanying faculty to both the forestry profession and culture in Ireland. The highlights of our tour include meeting of Irish forestry students and faculty to learn about forestry education; visiting with Coillte Teoranta to learn about Forestry Stewardship Council's sustainable forestry certification; traveling to West Coast (Galway) to learn about agroforestry, financial incentives for afforestation, and social aspects of forestry; visiting an ancient monastery at Glendalough; and time for walking the streets of Dublin. In-country transportation is provided to us courtesy of Coillte Teoranta, Ireland. Coillte Teoranta representatives have expressed an interest to Dr. Nieuwenhuis
about having more formal ties between the forestry programmes of WVU and UCD. We are very pleased at this development as it promotes the WVU International Forestry Program as envisioned by project PIs. The trip, planned for March 23-April 1, 2007, and associated work, will earn students 3 credits toward graduation. This grant helps defray trip costs by paying for student rooms in Dublin (6-nights). The project team agreed that more students could participate when we distribute among all participants the grant allowance for student awards; logistically, the best way to do this was to pay for hotel rooms. This solution was first confirmed with USDA CSREES ISE personnel. The project acquired a new bulletin board used to advertise the International Field Experience. We also informed all Division of Forestry students (majoring in Forest Management, Wildlife Science, Parks Tourism and Recreation, and Wood Science) via e-mail. As advised by Dr. Weiner of the Office of International Programs,
Drs. Piatek and Arano went class to class to tell students about this trip. To accomplish the goal to develop international forestry curriculum, the project team devised a strategy for team-teaching a senior-level course in Global Forest Resources. We divided the topics to best use each PIs strengths and interests. To accomplish the goal of hosting an International Forestry Colloquium, we have lined up potential speakers for January-May 2007. Among others, our international collaborators that will be speaking at the Colloquium this Spring are Dr. Nieuwenhuis from Ireland (early March) and Dr. Razal from the Philippines; we expect our guest from India to arrive in fall. Evaluation methods: As part of this project, we have proposed to evaluate our efforts in producing more globally-aware graduates and in enhancing our faculty's ability to secure funding for more international activities. Prior to starting any activities, we distributed a faculty survey, and devised a student survey to
be distributed at teh colloquium in January 2007. The results will be compiled at a later date.
PRODUCTS: Our products to date include a course syllabus for the Ireland trip in March 2007, and a fully planned itinerary, both of which are featured in a WVU Office of International Programs web page, and in a poster advertising the trip. Within the next three months, our main product will be our Field Experience trip to Ireland. We produced a course syllabus for our Global Forest Resources Course, and are collecting pertinent information for course content. We have devised two pre-project surveys to evaluate our effectiveness - both in terms of faculty outcomes and student outcomes. The faculty pre-activity survey results are in, and will be evaluated at a later time. The student survey will be distributed at the International Forestry Colloquium in January 2007. Finally, we planned, invited, and confirmed speakers for our International Forestry Colloquium for spring (January-May) 2007.
OUTCOMES: Our first International Field Experience in Global Forest Resources will be exposing us to forestry and culture of Ireland, where we will meet both Irish forestry students and professionals. In-country transportation (bus and driver) were contributed by Coillte Teoranta, the Irish Forestry Board, and an invitation to establish more formal future ties with WVU Forestry was informally extended. Such ties would greatly facilitate future student (undergraduate and graduate) exchanges, and faculty collaboration. We have formally and informally notified our forest industry and government partners in West Virginia and in the area of our upcoming international activities, in particular those associated with the colloquium. This gives us the sought-after exposure and establishes our program and faculty as players in International Forestry arena.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: We have visited most of the classes this fall in our program, including those in Forest Resources Management, Parks and Recreation, Wildlife Science, and Wood Science. We have distributed many fliers about our upcoming trip to Ireland, and encouraged students to take these home to show to their parents. Our informal talks with collaborators outside the university has helped generate interest in this program. A press release about our grant and program was disseminated to local pertinent outlets.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: While participating in a scientific meeting in October 2006 in Bilbao, Spain, PI Piatek has scouted opportunities for a future field experience to Spain. Both potential colleaques and areas to visit where explored on a preliminary basis. PI McGill is continuing to plan with Dr. A. Egan of Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada, a possible field experience to Canada; this trip, could feasibly take place during fall or winter break concurrently with this project.
Impacts
We anticipate an increased student and faculty interest in our field experiences once we return from Ireland and present trip lessons and impressions in a formal seminar at our International Forestry Colloqium. As a result of student participation, we expect students to be more competitive for jobs, more prepared to be involved professionally or personally in an international setting, and to help generate enthusiasm for our program. We also expect our faculty to be more eager to explore and be more competitive for outside funding in international forestry arena.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
|